The Alchemist's Son - Episodes 6 & 7 (Patreon)

Chapter 6Declan“This company apparently takes their clients’ privacy very seriously,” Salem said, face pinched. “I can’t crack their system. If I keep pushing, it’s only going to alert them that I’m banging on their firewalls.”“You mean the panic room company doesn’t have shitty cyber security?” Rune quipped, making an exaggerated puzzled face. “Weird.”Salem rolled his eyes, then sprawled in his chair, looking to Declan, waiting for further instruction.Before he could even formulate a response, Ezra sat up straighter from where he perched on the arm of the couch beside Rune. “What? So, that’s it? Trail cold? Game over?”“Easy, killer. We’re not dead in the water yet,” Coven said, seemingly amused by Ezra’s irritation.Salem shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I just said we’re not going to be able to do this the easy way.”“Hacking their system was the easy way?” Ezra questioned.Salem grinned, running a hand through his hair. “It is when you’re me.”Ezra’s gaze slid down Salem’s exposed chest in a barely-there look before dragging it to the computer screen behind him. Declan ground his teeth until his jaw popped, cutting his eyes to Salem. “Where’s your shirt?” he snapped.Salem looked down at his chest like he was only just realizing that his hoodie was completely unzipped, revealing his toned abs and hairless chest. His brows knitted together, looking from Declan to the others before landing on a slightly flushed Ezra. Declan saw the moment Salem put two and two together.“My bad,” he muttered, hooking the zipper and tugging it closed.Declan didn’t give a shit about Salem. His gaze was locked on Ezra, who was flushed and actively not meeting his gaze. Yeah, he knew what he’d done. Was he interested in Salem? He was closer to Ezra’s age. He was also far more attractive than Declan in his objective opinion. Which didn’t bode well for him if he made the mistake of looking at Ezra the way Ezra had looked at him.“So…what’s next?” Olivander asked from where he sat on the table at the back of the room. It was the first time he’d spoken since Ezra had made him pay up after he’d gotten out of the ropes.Declan heard the question but he was way too busy seething. Salem knew better than to cross Declan, friends or not. They were friends. Good friends. But friendship only went so far in this business. A lesson Abel had just taught them. A lesson Declan intended to return threefold when he found him.As for Ezra, he was young. He’d learn. He’d learn who he belonged to. He’d understand soon that there was no reason to look to anybody but Declan. Almost like Ezra could sense Declan’s displeasure, he snapped his gaze to his, his tongue darting nervously out to lick over his lower lip.Declan arched a brow, giving him a hard stare. Ezra’s pupils blew wide, and he sucked in a shaky breath. Was the little shit getting turned on? Now? Then he realized, Ezra liked Declan jealous. He had half a mind to drag him into the other room and let him know what happened when he played dangerous games.“Jesus, get a room, you two,” Rune muttered.Once more, Ezra flushed, crossing his arms over his chest and sinking back against the wall. Spell broken, Declan sighed. He’d deal with him later. “You sure there’s no way to get at him digitally?”“Not without wasting a fuckton of time,” Salem said. “But it’s up to you, boss.”Declan flicked his gaze to Salem, hearing the sarcasm in the way he said boss. Nobody in that room feared Declan nearly as much as they should. But that was because he’d learned to keep his tendencies under wraps. Declan didn’t snap. He wasn’t a person whose rage exploded from him like a bomb, taking out innocent bystanders.No, Declan had learned many years ago to channel his compulsions. He didn’t blindly lash out. He made targeted attacks. Calm. Rational. Deliberate. He wasn’t a bomb, he was a drone strike. Equally dangerous but…focused. Abel had taught him that. He’d taught him there was nobody so feared as a man who couldn’t be rattled.But Declan was rattled. Abel had abused his trust and run off with his money. With all of their money. And now, Declan had his son. Ezra. Who also rattled him but in an entirely different way—one that had him seriously contemplating his stance on being reactionary. But no, he’d wait. Punishment was always better when the recipient had time to think about what they’d done. His gaze slid to Ezra who now watched him, thumb in his mouth as he worried his nail between perfect teeth. Declan’s cock took notice.Jesus, Declan. Focus. Fuck.“Did you dig up anything on the company itself?” he finally asked.Salem clicked a button on the screen, revealing two mediocre white men, equally uninteresting in both looks and attire. Just two rich assholes on their way to play golf or tennis or some sport only the rich seemed to find entertaining.“The one on the left with the mole on his cheek is Satar. Squeaky clean, goes to church three times a week, has a wife and two small children, is on the board at a non-profit.”“And the one on the right?” Declan asked.“Myers. Also married, two kids in college, a mistress, has been investigated in the past for fraud, and has two domestic violence collars.”Declan studied the picture of the two men. If they couldn’t get past the computers, they just needed to go old school. Just get one of them into a room face to face and beat the answers out of them. But it was just a matter of who would be the one more willing to talk. It would be easier if Declan could just hop on a plane and fly there, but he had his Ezra problem.Still, he wasn’t leaving the questioning to the others. One of these men was the best chance they had at pinning down Abel’s location and figuring out how the fuck to get their money back.Finally, Declan said, “Bring me Myers.”“You want us to bring him to you here?” Olivander asked, his tone not argumentative for once.“Yeah, I want to question him in person, but I’m not leaving this one alone,” Declan said, eyes cutting to Ezra. “Especially now that he’s shown us how easily he can escape anything that might keep him where I put him.”Ezra fluttered his lashes at him but then frowned. “So, what are you going to do with him?”Declan shrugged. “Torture him until he talks.”Declan watched Ezra process that information. “You want them to, like, go to the islands, get this guy on a plane and bring him back here, so you can torture him until he talks?”“Yeah. It’s the safest course of action. Over there, they have the advantage of knowing the island, the layout, where to run. Vegas is my town. Our home base. I own this building. It’s empty except for us. If he’s here, nobody will hear him scream. It’s a controlled environment,” Declan explained.He waited for Ezra’s face to contort in horror, for him to beg or plead for Declan not to torture some poor, innocent human. He would hear him out, but, in the end, he would do it anyway. Ezra needed to see that this wasn’t a game. That Declan was the kind of person to do whatever it took to get what he wanted.“That’s a bad call,” Ezra said, shaking his head.Declan shrugged. “This is just how it has to be. If we want to get to your father, someone is going to have to get their hands dirty.”Ezra’s sharp gaze flicked to his. “Yeah, I know that,” he said, tone pissy. “But you’re kidnapping the wrong guy.” Ezra looked at the photo on the screen. “Satar is the one you want.”Declan’s brows rose, shock arching through him. “You want me to torture…the nice guy?” he asked.“Didn’t see that coming,” Rune admitted.Ezra scoffed. “Anybody who goes to church three times a week and sits on the board of a non-profit, while simultaneously owning a company that builds safe rooms for rich assholes, isn’t a saint. They’re hiding something. Something so dark they’re willing to spend three days a week in sermons to keep it buried. Figure out his secret and exploit it,” Ezra said.“You don’t think Myers is more likely to spill?” Rune asked.“No. Where’s the leverage? I mean, sure, he’ll probably whine and cry about having his fingers broken, but he’s a rich, entitled asshole who likes to beat his wife. For all we know, he could be a psychopath, and they never talk, no matter how much you torture them.”“How do you even know that?” Salem asked.“I did a paper on it,” Ezra said.“You did a paper on how to torture people?”“No, I did a paper on the effects of torture on prisoners of war,” Ezra said calmly. “What I learned was that the worst types of torture aren’t physical, they’re mental. You have to shatter someone mentally to get them to give you what you want. If that’s your goal, then you go for the one with the pretty wife, the two little kids, and a secret so big he feels guilty about it.”“And if there’s no big secret?” Declan countered.Ezra sighed. “If I’m wrong, he still has two small kids. You can always use them as leverage. Either way, Satar is the better grab. If you want answers anyway.” The room fell silent as they all stared at Ezra, who returned his thumb to his mouth, teeth once more gnawing at his nail. When nobody spoke, he said, “What? Tell me I’m wrong.”“Shit,” Olivander muttered. “He’s not fucking wrong.”“I’m with your boyfriend,” Rune said with a shit-eating grin.“Get Reed on the phone, tell him we need his plane.” To Salem, Declan added, “Do a deep dive into Satar and see if Ezra’s right. Give me something I can use to pressure him.”Salem looked at Ezra for a long minute before turning his gaze back to Declan. “Whatever you say, boss.”Chapter 7EzraHours went by with Ezra sitting on the sofa while the others formulated a plan. A plan based on his input. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had actually listened to his opinion on even the simplest of things. But he knew he was right about this. Myers wouldn’t be afraid. But Satar—that was a man with something to lose. Ezra could feel it in his bones.It wouldn’t take physical torture to get him to talk either. With Satar, a simple crack in his dam would likely have him flooding them with too much information in no time.Declan would try torture first. Ezra believed that in his soul. Declan enjoyed hurting people. He was a hammer and everybody else was a nail. But Ezra liked that about him. A hammer was only a weapon based on who was holding it, and Ezra intended to make damn sure that the only one wielding Declan was him.He’d seen the look on Declan’s face when he’d checked out Salem. He’d watched the near instantaneous jealousy erupt across his features and it had Ezra hiding his half-hard dick behind his folded hands. There was something oddly thrilling about being the object of desire to someone like Declan. Like holding your hand over an open flame. Ezra was more than ready to burn for Declan.By the time Declan wrapped his hand around Ezra’s upper arm and pulled him to his feet, the sun was sinking outside. They left the others behind, Ezra stumbling as Declan pulled him along the hallway and back into his room.Well, their room, for now.Once inside, Declan shoved Ezra up against the wall, crowding into his space. Ezra instantly went limp, a startled breath leaving his lips. God, he loved this.“Did you think I wouldn’t see you?” Declan asked, his lips inches from Ezra’s.Ezra’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “See me?” he echoed, heart hammering even as his cock hardened rapidly.Declan trailed his nose along Ezra’s cheekbone. “Did you think I didn’t notice the way you looked at Salem?”Ezra was trembling, but not so much from fear as anticipation. Declan had said he would fuck him, probably tonight. That meant now. “I know you saw,” Ezra countered. “I wanted you to see.”“I told you what would happen if you disobeyed me,” Declan said, lips softly brushing behind Ezra’s ear. “I told you I would punish you. I would hurt you.”“You never told me not to look at Salem,” Ezra countered boldly.Declan pulled back, slapping him across the face hard enough to leave a trail of fire in his wake. Adrenaline flooded Ezra’s system and he moaned. Tears sprung to his eyes, but he smiled defiantly. “Harder, Daddy.”Declan’s nostrils flared, pupils blown. His hand crawled upwards to wrap around Ezra’s throat, but he didn’t squeeze. “This is your last warning. Do you really want to lose your virginity like this? As a punishment?”Tears rolled down Ezra’s reddened cheek. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”Declan studied his face, like he was trying to decide if this was truly what Ezra wanted. It was. But if Declan asked him why, he wouldn’t have been able to answer him. He didn’t know why he wanted to submit to Declan in the bedroom and nowhere else. He didn’t know how or why he’d always known this would be their dynamic or why, when he jerked off every night, Declan brutalizing him was usually his tipping point. He was just fucked up like that. Who could blame him?Disappointment flooded Ezra as Declan suddenly released him and stepped away. “Get on the bed,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. Ezra opened his mouth to argue, but Declan put a finger in his face. “One more word and I’ll fucking gag you first.”Ezra swallowed hard. Yes, please. He didn’t say it out loud, though. A tiny shiver of fear crept along his spine as Declan leaned his shoulders against the wall, watching him. Ezra climbed onto the bed, lying on his stomach.“No, I want you on all fours,” Declan murmured.Ezra glanced over his shoulder, meeting Declan’s gaze, before canting his ass up in the air like a cat in heat. Then, he lifted up on his hands, giving him a look that he hoped conveyed exactly how much he wanted this.Declan gave him a thorough once-over and a callous smile that made Ezra throb with need. “Actually, you know what? You can put your head back down.”Ezra dropped his chest back down to the mattress but kept his face where he could watch Declan.Declan made a show of lazily removing his belt and folding it in half. Was he going to spank him? Fuck, it was so cliché, but Ezra had fantasized about being punished by Declan for so long it felt like another fever dream. He was already so fucking hard. Was it possible to come untouched, just from the picture Declan made?Declan pushed off the wall, peeling his shirt over his head and letting it drop to the floor. Ezra swallowed hard at the sight he made, half naked, jeans riding low on his hips, folded belt in his hand.“Pants down.”Ezra hooked his fingers into the waistband of his sweats and lowered them. When he was at mid-thigh, Declan said, “That’s far enough. This is the only part I’m interested in right now.” That shouldn’t have made Ezra’s heart flutter, but it did. He wanted Declan to use him. Hard. “Have you ever been spanked before?”“No…Daddy,” Ezra added hastily, cheeks flushing.“Explains why you’re so mouthy,” Declan teased, trailing the end of the belt over Ezra’s ass, letting the end drag between his cheeks then back out again. He pushed Ezra’s t-shirt up, revealing his back, grazing his fingertips along the knobs of his spine. Ezra’s flushed cock was already leaking onto the comforter below.“Do you have a safe word?” Declan murmured.“Do I need one?” Ezra asked, breathless.Declan’s chuckle made his blood run cold.“Oh, you’re definitely going to need one. For now, we’ll use the traffic light system. Red means stop. Got it?”Ezra’s mouth was a desert. “Yes.”Ezra tensed as he waited for the first blow, but it never came. Instead, Declan grabbed his wrists, wrapping the belt around them and securing them behind his back.He could have easily removed the belt, but Ezra didn’t think that was the point. “Still afraid I’ll run?”“No, I’m afraid you’ll try to cover yourself by the third blow or so, and that will just lead to you getting hurt. This keeps you out of my way.” Before Ezra could process Declan’s meaning, his hand cracked hard across Ezra’s ass cheek, ripping the air from his lungs as pain exploded through him.Holy shit.Do it again. Do it again.Ezra whimpered as Declan’s hand fell once more on the other side. Then again. And again. It was weirdly methodical at first. Left. Right. Left. Right. One blow across one thigh, then the other. Each time they collided, the pain was explosive, his skin catching fire until sweat erupted all over.But then it changed. Sometimes, Declan would raise his hand, but then just sooth his fingertips over the welts on Ezra’s skin. Other times, it was barely a light smack. It had been easier when he could anticipate what came next. This was torture. His muscles burned and ached.“When you tense, it hurts more,” Declan warned, palming Ezra’s ass and shaking it as if to remind him to relax. “You don’t want it to hurt anymore than it has to. Do you?”Ezra was too far gone to answer any of Declan’s taunting questions. He was…liquid, vapor floating above himself, looking down at the lewd picture they made. His brain was fuzzy, his thoughts fleeting. There was no fear, no worries. Just pain. First, knife sharp, then dull, until it was all Ezra knew.He didn’t even feel Declan release his hands until they fell onto the bed, useless. Tears were streaming down his face, but he couldn’t stop them.Declan draped over him, murmuring against his ear, “Have you had enough?”“Yes, Daddy,” Ezra managed thickly, unable to stop the sob that escaped. What was wrong with him?“You did so good,” Declan praised, dropping kisses along his sweaty hairline and the back of his neck. “You were so good for me.”Warmth pooled in Ezra’s belly at Declan’s words. He barely registered Declan undressing him fully and rolling him onto his back, but when his mouth slanted over his, he responded, lips parting to accept his tongue in a surprisingly soft kiss. When Declan pulled away, he gripped Ezra’s chin gently, licking the tears from his cheeks before kissing him once more.“Are you sure you still want to do this?” Declan asked against his lips.Would he have asked anybody else that question? Declan was possessive and liked inflicting pain, but he’d been Ezra’s hero for as long as he could remember. Always coming for him, always caring for him. So, which one was the real Declan? Were they both him? Ezra wanted to believe that this soft side was only for him. Was that crazy? Probably.“Yes. I want it to be you. It has to be you.”Declan rose up, manipulating Ezra until his knees were bent, heels on the bed, with Declan kneeling between them. He took his wrists in his hands, rubbing where the leather had been, before kissing the sensitive skin there and placing his arms over his head.Ezra couldn’t tear his eyes away as Declan ran rough palms down his abdomen to his hips, squeezing tightly before looming over him to kiss his chest, licking over one nipple, tugging with his teeth, then soothing with his tongue—first one, then the other. Ezra wanted to touch Declan, too. Wanted to taste his skin, feel the raw scrape of his scruff.But when he lifted his arms, Declan gave him a sharp look. “Uh-uh. This is about you. Hands on the pillow. Don’t move. I make the rules. Remember?”Ezra made a noise of frustration, but Declan just grinned, his head dipping to drag his teeth along Ezra’s ribs, then his hip bones. He ignored his straining cock, nosing at the place where his hip and thigh met before lying down and pushing his legs up and out, leaving Ezra feeling painfully exposed.He sighed as soft lips dragged over the heated skin of his ass and thighs. The feel of Declan’s mouth over the raised welts was a strange pleasure pain, like the thrill of pushing on a bruise, and it only further added to the strangely out-of-body experience he was having.Declan caught him under the knees, opening him further so he could drag his tongue from his hole to his balls in a gesture that had Ezra fisting the pillow beneath his head. Holy shit. “Do it again…please?”Declan chuckled, his soft tongue teasing over him with just enough pressure to make him long for more. He tried pushing back against him, but Declan would simply retreat, his thumbs spreading him apart until he stopped moving. Then, he buried his face once more until Ezra felt like his whole body would explode.“Stop teasing, Declan. I’m ready. I want you inside me,” he managed.Declan’s gaze flicked upwards and, for a second, Ezra thought he would ignore his plea. Instead, he placed a kiss on Ezra’s inner thigh, then stood, walking to the side of the bed where he pulled lube from his bedside table. He dropped it on the bed beside Ezra before holding up a condom. “I’m negative, but it’s up to you. It might hurt less if I wear it.”Ezra stared at it for a long moment, chewing on the inside of his lip. He didn’t want anything between them, no matter how stupid that was. He gave a jerky shake of his head. “No. Just you.”Declan’s eyes went wide for a brief moment, but he nodded, hands going for the zipper on his jeans. Fuck, he was so goddamn hot. Every single fantasy Ezra had ever had came to life in front of him. He couldn’t tear his eyes away as Declan finished undressing. Then he was crawling back between Ezra’s open thighs once more, dragging Ezra forward until his ass sat on Declan’s knees, his legs splayed wide.In all the ways Ezra had imagined Declan taking him, this position had never occurred to him, but with Ezra on his back and Declan on his knees, it left Ezra with the perfect view of Declan and everything he was doing to him. He watched from beneath half-closed lids as Declan coated his fingers with lube then slid them between Ezra’s cheeks, the tip of his finger probing his entrance.“Relax for me, okay?” Declan asked, leaning down to kiss Ezra’s knee in an oddly sweet gesture that made Ezra’s chest feel tight.Ezra swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, unable to find any words at all. Then, Declan’s finger was pushing inside. It didn’t hurt except when Ezra tensed, but even that flash of a burn eased almost instantly when he realized Declan was watching his finger disappear inside him.Declan’s gaze flicked upward, noting Ezra was watching him. He gave him a smirk that shot a lightning bolt of desire through his whole body. He wrapped his palm around Ezra’s painfully aching cock, using the precum there to slowly jerk him.“Please, dont,” Ezra begged. “I don’t want to come yet. This is already too much.”Declan stopped moving his hand but didn’t release him, just squeezed. Ezra hissed as Declan added a second finger, his body having to adjust to the invasion once more. But just like before, it was only a fleeting pain, quickly replaced by the pleasure of being filled by Declan. Ezra rocked his hips forward, trying to get more of Declan inside him.“Already so needy,” Declan rasped, sliding his fingers free and reaching for the lube once more.Ezra trembled as Declan coated his cock with the lube then rubbed the head between the furrow of his ass until it caught on his entrance. Ezra fisted the pillows once more when Declan locked eyes with him. “Just breathe, okay?”Ezra gave a stilted nod, then a sharp hiss as Declan breached him, his body instantly rejecting the invasion. Ezra’s erection flagged at the shooting pain. Declan stopped, barely inside him, and for a brief moment, some small part of him worried he might just pull free and leave. Instead, he gripped Ezra’s thighs, pulling him forward as he rocked his hips, taking him slowly, inch by inch.Declan was sweating now, too. His muscles tensed, but his thumbs rubbed gentle circles on Ezra’s skin as he moved, first slowly, then with slightly more ease as Ezra’s body accepted him. It was…uncomfortable, weirdly invasive, but then it wasn’t. Then it was just…hot.Watching Declan on his knees, surging into him again and again, looking at Ezra like he could barely control himself… Ezra could have come from that alone. “Is…is it okay?” he heard himself ask.Declan didn’t answer, just folded over him, gathering him against him and capturing his lips in a filthy kiss that had Ezra moaning into his mouth. He locked his legs around Declan’s hips, unable to stop the sounds he was making as the head of Declan’s cock was dragging over something inside that sent jolts of pleasure through his body with each motion.Declan broke their kiss, burying his head against Ezra’s neck. The heavy rasp of his breathing and the way he groaned each time Ezra’s body felt particularly good was making Ezra crazy. His cock was trapped between them, and the sweat and precum were just enough to give Ezra the friction he needed to get him back to the brink. Was he allowed to come?“I’m close,” he whispered. “Please, don’t make me wait.”“You can come,” Declan said, biting down on his earlobe.That was enough for Ezra. His release slammed into him like a wave, his pleasure dragging him down until he could do nothing but hold on as Declan continued to pound into him.Then he was crying out against Ezra’s ear, still rocking against him for a minute or two before the tension in him eased. He didn’t release Ezra, though, just laid there, still holding him close as they both gulped much-needed air.Finally, Ezra asked, “Can I move my arms now?”“Yeah,” Declan said with a soft laugh.“Good.” He wrapped them around Declan and held on tight. “Can you just…stay inside me?” Ezra asked, face flushing.“I can for as long as my body lets me,” Declan promised, dropping a kiss on his shoulder.